Of Jockstraps and Love Songs
by Rustie73
Summary: David and Mush find they have more in common than laundry. Very mild slash and mild language. ModernFlufff Written in response to the challenge that Frisky Wallabee made in her profile.


This is a present for Frisky Wallabee in response to her fanfiction challenge.

I do not own Newsies, Mush, David, Jack, Dutchy, Pie Eater (sigh) or Jake. They are owned by Disney.

I am making no money from this story. Therefore, I shall make no attempt to purchase any of the above in the near future.

I do not own the song "Faith." It is owned by Wham, or George Michael, or person or persons somehow related to them, or person or persons unknown.

I do not own the song "Another Saturday Night." It was recorded by Sam Cooke and I have no freakin' idea who owns it, so just apply the same sidestepping credit as above.

* * *

A/N: This story has not been beta'd.

* * *

Of Jockstraps and Love Songs 

As David struggled down the stairs under the weight of his laundry basket, he remembered how thrilled he was when he first saw the view from his third floor dormitory window. It almost made being shipped off to Pulitzer Academy worthwhile. What he didn't realize was that the laundry room was in the basement of the building which meant trudging four floors down and four floors back up with his weekly wash.

David was lonely and homesick and wished that he was still living in his family's apartment. The last thing he had wanted was to be pulled out of the enormous public high school where he easily blended into the masses. There were a total of eighty-six kids in his senior class at Pulitzer and more than half of which were girls. It was now impossible for the quiet boy to fade into the woodwork.

When he reached the landing between the ground floor and the basement, David lost his grip on the basket and his laundry spread across the floor. A chain of expletives and mumblings echoed through the stairwell as David vented his frustrations. He was angry with his parents over having been pulled out of his old school and enrolled in boarding school. He was fed up with his sister Sarah for constantly telling him how lucky they were to be attending such a prestigious and "uber cool" school. And he was furious with his dad's company for transferring him to Japan for the next six months.

David envied his little brother for being too young to send to the "penitentiary." Less was staying with his mother's sister, who lived in the same neighborhood as David's family. Less was in the same school, with the same friends, and he was living with family and not strangers. David longed to be ten years old again.

When he finally reached the laundry room, David switched on the lights and squinted from the harsh glow of the florescent bulbs. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he lifted the heavy basket onto the table and went to work.

David almost enjoyed doing laundry on Saturday night. Everyone else would either be away for the weekend or partying, and he could have the room all to himself. The slosh of the washers, the hum of the dryers, and the gentle buzz of the florescent lighting all blended together into a comforting drone. The laundry room had become David's personal haven where he could sit quietly and do homework, read a novel, or write in his journal. David became almost cheerful as he dumped the pile of laundry on the table and began to sing softly to himself.

"_Another Saturday night _

_and I ain't got nobody . . . ."_

"Damn it, Jack I'm not gonna do it!" Mush grumbled as he juggled the two heavy laundry baskets in his arms.

"Sorry Mushy boy, but you lost the bet."

"But when we made the bet, Race said I'd have to do _his_ laundry if I lost. He didn't say anything about having to do the entire basketball team's laundry"

"Technically this _is_ Race's laundry. Doing their wash is one of his jobs as team statistician. He gets to sit out on the court with the team and crunch numbers if he also does the team's laundry."

"Well it isn't fair."

"You should have thought of that before you bet against Racetrack," Jack laughed. "You should know by now that the guy never loses."

"Well you wouldn't think it was so funny if _you_ had to wash this stuff. There's an entire basket filled with jockstraps and stinking sweat sox alone. Even Snitch's sox are in here, and that guy never washes his feet! I'm gonna hurl if I have to- -"

Mush was interrupted by the sound of singing coming from the laundry room.

"_If I don't find me a honey _

_To help me spend my money_

_I'm gonna have to blow this town._

_Another Saturday night. . . ."_

Mush peeked around the doorway into the room and saw David happily folding his wash.

"That's the guy, Jack," Mush whispered.

"What guy?" Jack asked putting down the third of the team's laundry baskets and peeking around Mush.

"The guy from my algebra class. You know. . . . The guy I told you about. He's Jake's new roommate."

"The one you said was so cute?"

"No, Jack. The one with three heads. Of course the one that's cute."

Jack took another look and scratched his head. "He is kinda cute, but his eyes are too narrow."

"No Jack, your eyes are too narrow. His are the most gorgeous blue I've ever seen."

"Well if you like him so much, go in there and ask him out."

"I'd love to ask him out, but I'm pretty sure that he's not gay."

"Does he have a girlfriend or something?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then what makes you think he's straight?"

"Well, he hasn't been at any of the youth group meetings."

"Maybe he's not a joiner. I was out for two years before I decided to join."

"The only reason you joined was to meet guys. They should change the name from the Alternative Choices Youth Organization, to the Jack Kelly meat market."

"Very funny. Well, who are his friends? Who does the guy hang around with?"

"He doesn't hang around with anybody in our class. Jake asked him to come and sit with us in the dining hall yesterday, but he said, 'No thanks,' and went and sat with some junior girls."

"He could be bi, but the guy sounds stuck-up anyway."

"Nah. I think he's shy. He got kinda blushy when Jake asked him."

"I bet I could find out if he's gay or not."

"How?"

"I'll just go in and ask him if he's a fan of the penis or the- -"

"Jack! You wouldn't?!"

"Of course I wouldn't. Jeeze Mush, lighten up. This is why I have a date tonight, and you're spending the evening with smelly gym sox. Speaking of which, you'd better get started or you'll be washing that stuff all night."

"Hell no! I'm not doing this stuff with him in there. He'll think I'm some kind of a loser."

"They'll be calling you more than a loser if the guys find out that you welched on a bet."

Mush stood opening and closing his mouth, but couldn't think of a response. "Alright," he growled through clenched teeth. "But I'm gonna kill Racetrack when I see him!" Mush picked up the baskets, took a deep breath (which was not easy to do while carrying all of those dirty gym sox), and trudged forward.

David was still singing when they entered the room.

"_Another fella told me._

_He had a sister who looked just f- - ine. . . ." _

David stammered when he saw Jack and Mush. He could feel his face turning red and chided himself for singing in a public place. David hadn't sung in public since the third grade assembly when he was leading the school in the National Anthem and forgot the words.

"Hi," Mush chirped, feeling his face getting hotter.

David responded with an uncomfortable and formal "Hello," then looked back at his laundry.

Jack and Mush heaved the baskets of gym clothes onto a spare table across the room from David. Mush made no attempt to empty the baskets. He was too busy staring at David.

"Earth to Mushy," Jack chuckled. "That stuff isn't going to wash itself."

Mush shot Jack a scathing glare then lifted his shirt and took out the baseball glove that he'd stuck in his waistband.

"Isn't that Pie Eater's glove?" Jack asked.

"It sure is," Mush smiled as he put it on his left hand.

"What are you doing with it?"

"Protection," Mush said, reaching into the mound of dirty jockstraps and sweat sox with the gloved hand and then shoving the wash into the machine.

"He's gonna kill you if he catches you with that thing."

"Well, he should have thought of that before he stood behind me saying '_Take the bet, Mushy. It's a sure thing. There's no way that Race can beat you this time._'"

Jack looked at his watch and then smoothed down his hair. "I've got just enough time to find out if this guy is straight or not."

"Jack, please, _please _don't embarrass me."

"Relax, Mush, and watch an expert at work."

Jack strolled over to the table where David was folding his wash. "Hey," Jack said, flashing his dazzling smile.

"Hello," David replied curtly only glancing up then looking back down at the laundry.

Jack looked at the sheets David was folding and his grin became wider. "Hot damn! You just made my _Ekans_ evolve into an _Arbok_," Jack said wiggling his eyebrows.

"Excuse me?" David asked looking confused.

"You know. _Pokemon_!" Jack said, pointing down at the table.

"What?"

"He's looking at your sheets," Mush groaned feeling totally humiliated. "_Ekans_ and _Arbok_ are _Pokemon_ characters, and they're on your sheets."

"Oh," David replied flatly. "My little brother gave me these as a going away present. I'm not into video games."

"Woo-hoo! Will you look at these?" Jack laughed pulling something out of David's laundry basket. "You've got _My Little Pony_ sheets! Did your brother give you these too?"

"No! He gave them to my sister," David huffed, snatching the sheet out of Jack's hand. "This is her laundry."

"I've always wanted to have sex on a set of _My Little Pony sheets,_" Jack grinned.

"Why does this not surprise me?" David grumbled, feeling his face turn from pink to crimson.

Jack shrugged and walked back to Mush. "I can't tell if he's straight or not, but I can tell you that he's a raging tight-ass," Jack mumbled.

Mush looked up in time to see David's blue eyes flash in their direction. He'd heard Jack's comment. Mush wanted to crawl under the table and die. "Jeeze, Jack, did you have to say that?"

"You can thank me for saving you from disappointment later, Mushy. Now I'm off to pick up my date. You know how pissy Dutchy can get when I'm late."

"I hope Dutchy got tired of waiting and went out with Skittery like the last time!" Mush hollered as Jack left the room. Mush gathered all the courage he could muster then took a couple of deep breaths and went over to David. "I'm sorry about my friend. Jack's an okay guy once you get to know him. He's just a bit rough around the edges."

"It's okay," David replied.

"I'm Michael Meyers," Mush said holding out his hand.

"David Jacobs," David said as he firmly shook the offered hand. "I think you'd better check your wash," David said peeking over Mush's shoulder. "It looks like you've got a problem over there."

Mush turned around and saw soapsuds flowing out of the detergent slot and around the washer door. "Shit!" he shouted running for the machine. Mush slipped when he hit the puddle on the floor, but righted himself before falling.

"Don't open the d- -"

Mush opened the door of the front loading machine before David could stop him. An enormous wave of suds flowed out of the machine soaking Mush's sox and Chuck Taylors.

"Son of a Bitch," Mush mumbled shaking the suds and water from one foot.

"I tried to stop you," David smiled. "How much soap did you put in that machine, anyway?"

"A two cups," Mush said shaking his other foot.

David pointed to the sign above the machine. "It says that you should only use three-quarters of a cup for each load."

"I know, but this stuff was really dirty so I thought that extra soap would help."

"Hold on a minute," David said, going over to his laundry and getting a bottle of fabric softener. "This will fix it." David closed the door of the washer and poured the fabric softener into the detergent slot. The suds immediately dispersed and the wash continued through its cycle.

"Wow. That really worked. How'd you know what to do?"

"I made the same mistake when I was a kid helping my mom with the laundry, and I nearly flooded the entire washroom. My mom found me trying to clean up the mess and poured some of this into the machine. Unfortunately, she didn't find me until the room looked like an episode of _I Love Lucy_."

"Well, thanks for saving me. I'm going to be here all night as it is; never mind if I had to clean up a room full of suds.

"How long has it been since you did laundry?" David asked looking at the two remaining baskets. "It looks like you've been saving that stuff since freshman year."

"Actually none of this is mine. This disgusting pile of filth belongs to the basketball team."

"And you're doing the team's laundry because . . . .?"

"Because I lost a sucker bet with my friend and this is the payback."

"By your friend, I assume you mean the grinning homophobe that came in here with you?"

"Jack? . . . . A homophobe?" Mush was laughing so hard he had to hold on the washer to keep from falling over.

"What's so funny?"

"I wouldn't exactly call Jack Kelly a homophobe. That boy is gayer than George Michael!"

David grimaced at Mush's remark and then marched back to his table. Mush watched in confusion as David brusquely piled everything into his laundry basket.

"Wait a minute," Mush called after him.

David didn't answer. He snatched his basket from the table and turned to leave.

"Dave," Mush said grabbing hold of David's arm. "Is something wrong? Did I do something to piss you off?"

"I'm really sick and tired of you _jocks_ acting like you're better than everyone else. I'm gay and I'm not ashamed to admit it."

"So. I'm gay too, and I'm not ashamed to admit it either."

"You're gay?"

"Yeah, and I'm not a jock. I mean, I play spring soccer, but I'm a theater geek all the way."

"You're not a jock? But your so - - I mean, you look. . . ."

"I look what?"

"Well, look at yourself! You . . . Well; you look like that guy that was in the Mighty Ducks."

"What guy?"

"That Portman guy."

"You think I look like Portman? I think you've been sniffing too much of that fabric softener, Dave."

"Well, I've never seen a theater geek that looked like you. You're built more like an athlete than an actor."

"That's because I'm into musicals. I've been taking dance since I was about five, and my teacher had my mom enroll me in gymnastics. He said it would help my balance and flexibility."

"You're a dancer, and you're gay?"

"Yeah. I'm doing my best to perpetuate the stereotype," Mush laughed.

"There is nothing stereotypical about you," David beamed, but then blushed at his own boldness.

"Thanks," Mush grinned. "Well, I'd better get back to my mountain of laundry. That damn rule about only using one washer per person is gonna keep me here for at least three hours."

"But nobody uses these machines on Saturday night. Well, except for me. Who's going to know if you use three machines?"

"Probably nobody, but I can't risk getting caught. I came in fifteen minutes after curfew last Saturday, and I was put on report. That means if I have one more rule infraction this semester, I can't be in the school play next month. There's no way I'm going to risk that."

"I could stick around and help you if you'd like. I mean, I wouldn't want you to drown in a sea of soapsuds or anything."

"I couldn't ask you to do that. It's Saturday night, and I'm sure that you have better things to do than help me rid the world of toxic waste."

"I'm not busy right now, and with both of us here we can use two machines. It will cut a full hour off your laundry time."

"I'd really appreciate it Dave, but I wouldn't want to keep you from anything."

"I told you that I'm not doing anything right now. Bring over one of those baskets so we can get this over with."

"Dave, you're like a laundry room angel of mercy," Mush laughed. He rushed over to get the basket and again slipped in the puddle of soapsuds.

"No offence, Michael. But you're pretty clumsy for a dancer," David said as he took the mop from the corner and cleaned the spill. "You'll end up breaking a leg and you'll be out of the school play anyway."

"It's Mush."

"What's mush?"

"Me. I'm Mush. That's what everyone calls me."

"Why do they call you Mush?"

"You'll laugh," Mush said feeling the heat return to his face.

"No I won't. How bad can it be?"

"Okay, but you've got to promise not to tell anyone."

"Sure. I promise."

"Well, I told the guys I that got the name because I used to take my dates to the park and get all mushy with them, but it was my grandma who really gave me the name. You see, I had really chubby cheeks when I was a baby, and she used to pinch at them and call me her mushy cheek baby. After a while, everyone started calling me Mushy or just Mush."

"That's as good a reason as any," David said, laughing just a bit.

"Go ahead and laugh, but Grandma could have called me her chubby cheek baby and I'd have been stuck with that for the rest of my life. I think I got off pretty easy with Mush."

"I think you're right," David agreed.

When David got close to the basket of laundry he flinched. "How can you touch that stuff? It's disgusting. We need to get a pair of rubber gloves or something."

"No need," Mush smiled putting on Pie Eater's baseball glove.

"Aren't you afraid that you'll ruin your glove?"

"It's not mine."

"But - -?"

"Let's just say this is a little revenge for getting me into this laundry mess."

"That's not only devious, it's brilliant."

"Thanks," Mush smiled. "So tell me, Dave. If you don't mind my asking, how come I've never seen you speak to anyone other than those junior girls?"

"The girls are my sister and her friends. I tend to keep to myself. I found out the hard way that it was safer to keep a low profile."

"How come?"

"I was on the freshman soccer team when I came out, and it didn't go over so well. First the soccer team beat the crap out of me, and then the football team beat the crap out of me, and so on. My parents had to pull me out of that school and put me into the public school in our neighborhood. That's when I adopted the 'don't ask, don't tell' way of thinking."

"I know what you mean. About two years ago, I was coming out of the dance studio, and three guys decided to teach me a lesson in morality. They were pretty good teachers too. I don't know what would have happened if Jack and Spot Conlon hadn't come along. I got three cracked ribs from that lesson. Jack and I have been best friends ever since. Spot and Jack are both on the spring soccer team with me. Jack and I are gay, and Spot is bi. Nobody bothers us about it. This isn't that kind of school. You should think about going out for the team this year. And you should join the Alternative Choices group. We have parties and stuff, but we also help each other to deal with personal problems. It's kind of like having therapy with music and dancing. We have a lot of fun."

"Maybe," David answered uncomfortably. "I'm not really a joiner."

"You've gotta learn to lighten up, Davey. Life's too short."

David raised an eyebrow at Mush then quickly looked away.

"What's the matter?" Mush asked.

"It's nothing. It's just that nobody ever called me Davey before."

"I'm sorry. Would you prefer that I call you Dave, or David?"

"No. It's okay. I kinda like it."

"Then Davey it is," Mush smiled.

David and Mush talked and laughed as they trudged through the miserable task of the team's laundry. Before they knew it, they'd finished folding the uniforms while the last load spun in the dryer.

There was a slight lull in the conversation as both boys sat on the folding table and watched the hypnotic motion of the clothes rolling in the dryer. Mush didn't realize that he'd begun tapping out a beat and humming along with the dryer. Seconds later, with his eyes still fixed on the dryer, Mush began to softly sing.

"_Oh but I  
Need some time off from that emotion  
Time to pick my heart up off - - the - - fl - - oor."  
_

Mush looked over and saw that David was watching him. His blue eyes were sparkling, and he was grinning from ear to ear. Mush hadn't even realized that he'd begun to sing.

"Sorry about that," Mush mumbled uncomfortably. "I do that sometimes. . . . Actually, I do that a lot. It must be the song and dance man in me."

"Don't apologize," David said, patting him on the back then immediately pulling back his hand. "You have a great voice. I wish I could sing."

"But you can sing. I heard you when I came in here tonight."

"Jeeze that was so embarrassing."

"You think that was embarrassing? Davey, you just caught me singing George Michael. I just morphed into the ultimate stereotype."

"Stereotype or not, I like George Michael," David said.

"You do? Me too! And I love the video for that song."

"So do I. It's so classic eighties."

"I know. And how anyone didn't know that he was gay is beyond me. He was almost wearing a sign in that video." Mush jumped to his feet and started dancing on the table. He was wiggling his behind and playing air guitar.

David realized that he was staring at Mush's bottom and quickly averted his eyes. When he felt his face getting hot, he went over to the vending machine and bought two sodas. He immediately opened one and began to chug hoping to relieve the sudden dryness in his mouth. When he turned back to the table, Mush had stopped dancing and was pointing accusatorially at him. David braced himself for the blasting he was about to receive for being caught staring at Mush's behind, but there was no explosion. Instead, Mush began to sing.

"_Well I guess it would be nice  
If I could touch your body.  
I know not everybody  
Has got a body like you." _

"C'mon, Davey. You've seen the video," Mush said grabbing David by the wrists and nudging him to clap to the music George Michael style. "That's it!"

David laughed and clapped as Mush recreated the eighty's classic.

_"But I've got to think twice. . . ."  
_

Mush stopped singing and again pointed at David.

"What?"

"You sing the next line!"

"I'm not gonna sing!" David gasped.

"C'mon Davey, I know that you know the words. There is nobody else around but us. Relax and have a little fun!"

David looked over his shoulder to make sure that nobody else was watching then blurted out the words as though they were one, "BeforeIgivemyheartaway."

"We both know you can do better than that, Davey," Mush said pulling David onto the table next to him. "C'mon. We'll sing together."

Mush began to sing and David timidly joined in.

_"But I've got to think twice  
Before I give my heart away  
And I know all the games you play  
Because I play them too"  
_

"Now have some fun with it, Davey!"

Soon David was wiggling his bottom and playing air guitar along with Mush.

_"Before this river  
Becomes an ocean  
Before you throw my heart back on the floor. . . ."  
_

"Will you look at that?" Jack whispered peeking around the corner of the doorway. "It looks like Mushy's got himself a new boyfriend."

"Lucky Mush!" Dutchy grinned. "That guy is cute!"

"He's not that cute," Jack huffed. "His eyes are too narrow."

"No, Jack. Your eyes are too narrow. His are gorgeous."

"Why does everyone keep saying that to me?"

"Why do you keep showing up late when we have a date?"

"But I had a good excuse this time. I was helping Mush find out if this guy is gay or not."

"Okay, mother hen. Now that you see your baby boy is doing fine, you have exactly five minutes to get up to my room at start doing nasty things to me. If not, I'm going out with Skittery next Saturday."

"You wouldn't do that to me, would you?"

"Stop acting like the jilted lover in one of those cheesy cowboy songs you listen to. I warned you that if you don't stop taking me for granted, I was gonna drop you like a bad habit."

"But baby . . . ."

"Don't baby me, Jack Kelly. I'm not kidding. If you're gonna be my boyfriend, then you'd better start acting like it."

"What can I do to make it up to you?" Jack smirked pulling Dutchy close against him.

"I already told you. Now you have only three minutes to get up to my room and - -"

"I'm already there!" Jack grinned taking Dutchy by the hand and running up the stairs.

When David and Mush finished the song, they flopped down onto the table still laughing.

"That was fun," David panted.

"I'll make a song and dance man out of you yet," Mush chuckled.

The timer on the dryer buzzed, and both boys looked disappointedly at the machine. They each grabbed an armful of laundry and brought it to the table. Neither spoke as they folded the last of the wash.

"I guess that's it," David sighed, putting the last sock into the basket.

"I never thought that doing laundry could be so much fun," Mush replied.

"Well, I guess I'll see you around," David said picking up his basket.

"Hey, Davey," Mush said grabbing David's arm. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to go out with me next Saturday? I mean, if you don't have a boyfriend or something."

"No. . . . I mean no, I don't have a boyfriend. Yes I would like to go out with you."

"That's great. If we had this much fun doing laundry, I can't wait to see what our first date will be like."

"I'm not sure, Mush. But I think that this was our first date."

"Yeah. I think you're right. This did felt more like a date than getting suckered into doing the team's laundry. And in that case . . . ." Mush took David's laundry basket and put it back on the table then leaned in and kissed him.

David's stomach felt like it turned completely over and then back again. When Mush pulled away, he looked at David's expression and laughed. "Don't look so surprised, Davey. If this _was _our first date, than that was our first goodnight kiss. It is customary, you know."

"Uh-huh," David muttered, not knowing how to respond.

"It wasn't that bad, was it, Davey?"

"No! . . . No it was nice," David blushed.

"Good," Mush said, taking his hand. "You know, it's still early. How about coming back to my room to watch a movie or something?"

"What about your roommate? Will he mind if I'm there?"

"Nah. I room with Jack, and he'll be spending the night with his boyfriend, Dutchy. Unless Dutchy decides to kick him out again."

"You know, I thought that you ware talking about a girl earlier this evening when you mentioned Jack having a date with someone named Dutchy."

"Hell no! Dutchy is a six foot tall blond, and there is nothing feminine about him."

"Is that the guy with the wire rimmed glasses and the incredibly blond hair?"

"The one and only. He's the best thing that ever happened to Jack. My roommate was a bit of a man-whore, but Dutchy knows how to keep him in line. They're crazy for each other."

"They're lucky," David mused.

"Nah. I'm lucky. Losing that bet was the best thing that's happened to me in a long time," Mush said, squeezing David's hand.

"Me too," David smiled.

"Does that mean that you _do_ want to come up and watch a movie or something?"

"Lead the way," David said, shoving two of the laundry baskets into Mush's arms and picking up the remaining two.

"Do you like musicals, Davey?" Mush asked as they started up the stairs.

"Sure. What did you have in mind?"

"Well I have this DVD about these kids who sell newspapers for a living and these two guys who lead them in a strike for better wages. The lead guy isn't bad, but the other guy is totally hot!"

"I don't think I know that movie," David said following behind Mush. "But it does sound interesting."

End

A/N: This story was not beta'd. I hope that any possible mistakes did not detract from your reading pleasure.

Thanks for reading. Your reviews will be greatly appreciated.


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